


Infinite and Momentary

by Rhearn



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Action & Romance, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Comfort/Angst, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Gang Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2018-12-30 03:41:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12099924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhearn/pseuds/Rhearn
Summary: **ON INDEFINITE HIATUS**Ryder and Reyes struggle to define their relationship while a crisis develops on Kadara. Volatile circumstances force them to reconcile their dysfunctional love with their separate roles and responsibilities in Heleus, and eventually, they must confront opposition from the Initiative.---This is an attempt to fill a perceived void in the Ryder/Reyes in-game romance. Set before and after Hunting the Archon. Rating is set for future chapters currently in progress. More tags will be added as needed.





	Infinite and Momentary

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone else who was frustrated with how the Reyes romance concluded, I hope this is as much a balm for you as it is for me. Any feedback is welcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you read the old chapter that I posted, that piece has been swapped out and will resurface later. I think this is more linear and flows nicer. TBC, several chapters in progress.

“We have to do something to bring people back into the fold, Tann,” Addison repeated herself wearily.  
“Clemency hardly seems an appropriate reward for theft of Initiative property, murder and acts of treason.” Tann’s objection was nasal and obstinate. The directors flickered an ethereal blue at the vidcon table as they frowned at one another.

Ryder shifted her weight from one aching leg to the other and sighed inwardly. She’d been out in the field on Voeld for days, flushing remaining bands of kett from the frozen landscape. The Tempest crew were on standby while Gil fixed the kett transponder, taking on varied tasks and duties in the meantime. It would seem that the Nexus administration had found them another errand to run.

“Not all of the exiles on Kadara were involved in the mutiny. Many simply lost confidence in our ability to provide and protect.” Vetra had resorted to placating gestures.  
“We must consider that they are reaching out to Ditaeon instead of simply raiding it. If we ignore the situation, we risk the entire outpost being taken by force. It’s defensible and it has significant resources,” Cora stated bluntly. She was stood to attention behind the table, hands clasped behind her posterior and shoulders thrown back. The woman still had windburn on her cheeks but showed no signs of fatigue. Ryder rubbed irritably her forehead, trying to push thoughts of sleep aside.

The power handover in Kadara had done more than stir up dust in the months since Sloane’s death. Rather than disbanding in the wake of their defeat, the crippled Outcasts had launched a reactionary homicidal spree across the port. A number of Milky Way migrants feared a brewing massacre and there were whispers that many were hoping to relocate to Ditaeon. Protected by Initiative forces, the steadily growing outpost had become a sort of embassy of regulated law and civil rights.

Tann frowned at them all loftily. As annoying as the salarian was, his saving grace was his willingness to see sense. He drew a breath through pinched nostrils and conceded defeat.  
“There may be a substantial advantage in forming a mutually beneficial association with the exiles in the long term. Pathfinder Ryder, I believe you have a working relationship with the Charlatan?”  
Ryder’s stomach back-flipped at Tann’s choice of words.

“Uh. Yes. Yes, I can speak with him on your behalf?”  
“You will need to take charge of this, Pathfinder,” Addison interjected. “We cannot be seen to be intervening in Kadaran politics. We’d prefer to keep a sympathetic leader in charge and the Charlatan won’t stay alive for long if the exiles think he is double dealing with the Nexus. You’re a familiar face to both sides; nobody will question your activities planetside. Go to Kadara Port and see what you can do about facilitating a relationship between Ditaeon and the exiles.” 

**

Ryder managed a quick shower after the vidcon meeting concluded and instructed Kallo to plot a course to the Govorkam system. She retreated to her quarters.

_“Sleep well, Sara.”_

The AI dimmed the lights of her cabin. The only remaining illumination was from Nol, the star’s light glaring through the cabin windows. Ryder settled into her bed with a grateful sigh, the duvet weighing softly on her body. SAM activated the shutters and enclosed the room in darkness. Not for the first time, Ryder was glad that the AI respected her mental boundaries and did not intrude on her private thoughts. Her muscles ached and her eyes were heavy with exhaustion, but her mind was slower to succumb to sleep. As the ship hummed gently and the bulkheads shifted around her in the dark, Ryder’s thoughts strayed to her next assignment.

Kadara… Ryder hadn’t had an excuse to go back there since she had obtained the transponder and unknowingly facilitated the Collective’s coup. The planet should hold no appeal for her, what with its nefarious reputation and sulphuric stink. She had no business there save for her duties as Pathfinder, yet with each day her desire to return grew unbearable. She was under no illusions about how dangerous Kadara was. Even with the planet now habitable, the space-age shantytown of Kadara Port was comparable to Omega as one of the most lucrative ports in Heleus. It was no secret to Ryder why she wanted to return to the deafening clamour of the markets, the rampant crime and the ominous bars. It was not that the squalor had a certain charm about it; rather, she had rapidly begun to associate everything about Kadara with its leader. Presiding over the splintered factions and the broiling chaos was the enigmatic Charlatan, a smuggler with delusions of grandeur that unfortunately happened to suit him.

Ryder hadn’t seen Reyes Vidal since he had revealed himself as the Charlatan. Her team had partnered with him for some time in naivety before his rise to ascendancy, not knowing the depth and reach of his influence. The day they teamed up to investigate the Roekaar, Ryder noted that she and Reyes worked together effortlessly – a peculiarity, given they had only just met. She had detected a coy undertone in Reyes’ voice over their shared comms mere hours into their alliance, and wondered if he were naturally flirtatious. She did not flatter herself to wonder if he spoke only to her in such a manner; he was attractive and charismatic, and she was not an idiot. Yet several weeks later, she was sure in her somewhat surprising estimation that there was a mutually exclusive attraction brewing between them.

Pressing issues back on the Nexus and some finer points of colonisation down on Eos had often drawn Ryder away, forcing her to direct her attention elsewhere for weeks at a time. She fought her developing feelings for Reyes at first, trying to ignore the reactions firing within her whenever anyone spoke of him. She tightened her mental grip on her waking hours only to be accosted at night by dreams of her and Reyes working and fighting together.

Every subsequent meeting with Reyes over the following months reignited her interest in him and they began to bind themselves to one another, tentatively at first, until the day he confronted Sloane and revealed his duplicity. Reyes’ admission had momentarily shaken her faith in him, and Reyes knew it. He had kissed her then, trying to express his transparency and his apology through the hungry press of his lips. It had not been their first kiss, but it had been the most honest. He had later insisted on a slow dance to emphasise that to her, he was Reyes, even if his identity as the Charlatan dominated who he was in all else. That moment had been quiet and gentle, a scene in stark contrast to their lives and their work in Heleus. To experience a moment so intimate with him was disarming. Ryder could cope with fear and desire, but she had not been prepared for their awkward admission of their feelings for one another. He was as unused to it as she. Had Ryder not the memory of his hand at her waist, his fingers twined through hers and an apologetic smile gracing his mouth, Ryder might have thought she’d dreamed their tender dance altogether.

That was weeks ago. Ryder hadn’t heard from him since, save for a short and strongly encrypted email. She wasn’t so insecure as to think he had duped her. Ever the tactician, Reyes would understand the narrow line they walked. What possible reason might the Pathfinder have to meet with a known smuggler at frequent intervals? He was hardly the pinup for colonial virtue. At the very least, the assumption would be made that Reyes Vidal was a person of import and his position as Charlatan would be jeopardised. Neither of them wanted that. If the more obvious connection were made, however, it would cause a scandal. The human Pathfinder’s infatuation with a particularly disreputable exile would serve to undermine Initiative authority. And the horrible truth was, Ryder simply had too many things she had to get done. Everyone was depending on her. Like anyone who had ever been in a position of power in human history, Ryder simply wasn’t allowed to do whatever she wanted lest she upset the balance. Politics and bureaucracy had followed them to Heleus like a bad smell.

Ryder sighed and shifted in the bed. They would be in Govorkam in no time. She sank into sleep, the aching in her muscles finally dragging her under. 

**

“You might have done this via vidcon. Meeting with me again so soon is a little suspect,” Reyes drawled, his right arm resting on the back of the seat. He sat with a booted ankle propped on the opposite knee, leaning back and gazing up at them from the gloom. His careless posture and effortless demeanour were somewhat spoiled by meticulously styled hair and his sharp, bright eyes. He commanded an impressive presence. Ryder and Cora joined him on the benches but Drack chose to stand near the door of their private parlour.

“Not that I mind,” Reyes added belatedly, and his gaze landed on Ryder. She tried to dismiss the tremulous static running through her. The predatory atmosphere and muffled beat of Tartarus’ music emphasised everything about Reyes: his quiet strength, his coquetry and his power in corrupt Kadara Port. He had chosen his lair well. Had she really ever been worried the Outcasts could touch him? He exuded an easy confidence and deadly competence. He was dangerous; his presence thrummed with it. But Ryder had never been able to leave dangerous alone.

_You look like you’re waiting for someone.  
_

“We’re here about the exiles… ” Ryder could not hear whatever else Cora had to say. She had locked eyes with Reyes. They observed each other silently while Cora spoke, the weeks of separation and all that had been left unsaid hanging in the air between them. Her mouth went dry and a surge of attraction erupted behind her breastbone. It was delicious torture to look at him like this and have to be covert. Reyes dragged his gaze away from hers as Cora finished speaking.

“Kadara specialises in two things,” he began as if Cora held his undivided attention. “Debauchery and turf war. We are on the brink of the latter. For now, the remaining Outcasts seem satisfied to unleash their anger on one another rather than concentrate on regrouping. I have kept them distracted by sowing some entirely false rumours about Sloane’s death and imaginary rats within their ranks. It has kept the innocents of Kadara Port – what few are left – relatively safe, along with your outpost.  
“Your protection of our people is appreciated. But I’m afraid we must ask you for more,” Ryder said, trying to shake the memories of his voice and their private moments from her head.  
“More, Pathfinder?” Reyes replied sweetly, cocking an eyebrow.

_Careful – I’ll start thinking you like me._

While Ryder fought her tongue around a reply, Cora took the lead again.  
“We’ve been made aware that some of the exiles are seeking safe harbour. They want to join Ditaeon and avoid the bloodshed.”  
“And any sanction allowing exiles to return to the Initiative would be viewed as a sign of weakness and open you to militant repercussion.” Reyes made the leap quickly, continuing with a serious tone. “What has the Nexus suggested?”  
“That you give us all the boring ones to babysit,” Drack grunted from the doorway. Ryder turned to look at him and saw that he stood with his arms crossed. She knew he distrusted Reyes and was ready to draw his shotgun at the smallest sign of treachery. She turned back and was startled to find Reyes observing her, his eyes roving over her.

_I liked the way you looked at me. I was afraid that would change._

“He’s right, in a sense,” Cora responded. “The Nexus have agreed to sign off on relocation requests and reissue official assignments after a background check to disprove any involvement in the initial mutiny. If an exile left the Initiative by choice, then they can return in the same fashion.”  
“You are asking these people to deny any Initiative wrongdoing.” Reyes sounded surprised. It wasn’t a question.  
“Some of them came here because they thought they had no choice; they might jump at an opportunity to be taken back. This wasn’t the lawless paradise they expected it to be,” Ryder replied with a shrug.  
“Lawless paradise?” Reyes repeated the phrase with a mirthful cadence and he chuckled in amusement. She’d forgotten the throaty sound of his laugh.

_I was about to say something cheesy._

“We’re not forcing those who are unwilling to come forward,” Cora continued.  
“The program helps to heal old wounds and set us back on path for the reason we’re here in the first place – to make new homes and start new lives,” Ryder finished. Reyes looked at them appraisingly, before nodding slowly.  
“Alright. This will take some time to put in place. The Collective cannot be seen to back the program officially.” Reyes rubbed at his forehead.  
“And neither can the Initiative,” Cora smiled, “Hence the Pathfinder. She represents humanity first before anything else. We need to organise for one of the ‘reformed exiles’ to meet with her and request that she lobby Initiative administration. If we can pitch this as the Pathfinder’s idea, it will implicate neither of us and benefit both.”  
“I’m impressed. I will put out some feelers, find out which exiles are unhappy with their lot in life. Shall we meet again in a few days?” Reyes stood up.

They took their leave of each other. Reyes caught Ryder’s eye just as they all turned to part.

_Consider me hacked._

Reyes winked at her and the corner of his mouth rose in a devilish smirk, promising her another time, another place.

_Nothing’s changed._


End file.
